Santos considering plans to 'simplify' SA's Port Bonython site, putting jobs at risk says union
The facility is located about 400 kilometres north-west of Adelaide and 30 kilometres north-east of Whyalla, in the Upper Spencer Gulf.
In a statement, a Santos spokesperson said it "continuously assesses options to improve the long-term sustainability" of its operations.
"Santos is currently considering a proposal to simplify operations at Port Bonython and, as part of the process, is consulting with staff before a final decision is made," they said.
"This proposal is part of our long-term plan to keep our Cooper Basin activities profitable while actively reducing emissions from our operations in line with our safeguard mechanism obligations.
"No decisions have been made yet."
When asked by the ABC if jobs would be at risk, Santos Limited did not comment.
Around 50 people work at the Port Bonython site, which is a gas fractionation plant with a deep-water port and a storage facility.
Crude and naphtha products processed there are shipped to be used in fuels and manufacturing in energy markets around Australia and Asia.
Australian Workers Union (AWU) South Australia branch secretary Gary Henderson said Santos informed it earlier this week that the company had begun assessing its Port Bonython operations.
"There's no indication in the exact amount of actual jobs [that could be lost]," Mr Henderson said.
"But my understanding is that out of the process, if it is approved, there will be excess employees … at the Port Bonython site.
"Santos have said that their first port of call will be to redeploy those people … but there could be some redundancies."
Mr Henderson said the consultation process would run until the end of the month, but there was no guarantee it would go the way workers hoped.
"They [Santos] just need to consider it as part of their decision-making process," he said.
Mr Henderson said workers were fearful, but it was not all "doom and gloom".
"I've spoken to a few of our members down there … they're a little bit anxious because they're not quite sure about who's going to get a job, where they're going to be working in the future, those kinds of things," he said.
"But it's a pretty long process, and my understanding is that if they [Santos] do enact the change, it won't go ahead until about this time next year.
"No job losses in any site is a good thing by any means at all, but it's just about adapting as well."
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